NEWS: Northern Electric Festival

A brand new festival aims to support electronic music in the region

By Mark Corcoran-Lettice
on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016

Image: John Dole

There’s no shortage of festivals and musical goings-on in the region right now, but on Saturday 13th August there’s an exciting newcomer in Newcastle’s Ouseburn Valley as the first ever Northern Electric Festival takes place at The Cumberland Arms, The Ship Inn, The Tyne Bar, Little Buildings and Ernest.

“The idea was to create a local event focused around the solo artists, producers, DJs and electronic bands we have here on our doorstep – something we hoped we’d be able to do annually.” Says organiser Steven Chell. “We wanted to play our part in promoting local electronic acts, supporting our friends, and also affording newcomers – or simply people who had never considered playing live before – a place on stage alongside their peers so they can have the opportunity to perform their material to new fans.”

As such, they’ve managed to book a diverse and exciting line-up that shows the depth and breadth of electronic music in the region. The Cumberland Arms welcomes the looped doom-folk of Nathalie Stern and the intense brilliance of Basic House, alongside Mod-Comm 81, Waskerley Way, Morpion, ako and OM10; The Ship Inn play host to the smooth post-dubstep of Xaatu, with additional sets from Movinard, Dan Ibbotson and George Hainsworth and Stephen Blythe; Little Buildings will feature the quirky pop of Twist Helix and the epic soundscapes of Ten Shapes, as well as Black Lines, Wishbone and What We Call Progress; Ernest is the place to head for Grooves Basslines And Licks (otherwise known as GBL), plus techno from Shaolin Live and Backdrop’s Joseph Clarke. The Tyne Bar features the earthy alt. rap of Outside Your House alongside Sagaboi, Ochre, Talk Like Tigers and local label Kaneda Beats, who present a showcase of artists on the label incorporating live instrumentation and vocals from John Dole (they’re also producing a compilation available from their Bandcamp as a free download prior to the festival).

It’s a fantastic line-up that has something to appeal to both mainstream tastes and more experimental tendencies.